The Fates and Graces Mythologium was an annual conference for mythologists and friends of myth that started in 2019, the year we (Stephanie and Joanna) finished our dissertations. It continued from 2020 through 2023. We poured our hearts into it, and each year, the community poured their hearts into it as well.
We are so proud of how this community shared ideas, inspired each other, and amplified each other’s work. Over the years, the Mythologium hosted more than 200 presentations. The community wrote, listened, discussed, and lifted each presenter with generous appreciation. Together, we all furthered the work of each of those mythologists and the field of mythological studies.
Introducing the International Society of Mythology
In 2020, when the world pivoted to Zoom, a new group of myth students found themselves having classes online. They missed the connections that would have happened in person, so they started their own online community group called Mythic Musings. They met weekly for formal presentations, or informal conversations, or sometimes what they called “mythic hangovers.” They recently had their 101st meeting.
Mythic Musings has grown and strengthened in parallel with the Mythologium, and now is ready to launch a professional association for mythologists called the International Society of Mythology, or ISM. Part of their work will include hosting a myth conference. Visit their website today to join their email list and stay up to date.
Handing the myth conference baton to ISM
We (Stephanie and Joanna) are honored to hand the baton of an annual myth conference to this new organization. We will share what we’ve learned about organizing myth conferences with the ISM team, but ISM has such fantastic ideas and so much great energy that we don’t want to get in their way. We hope to attend and maybe even present at the first ISM conference, which will have a theme of Myth and Creativity.
Most of all, we hope you join us in supporting ISM as they take the myth conference baton and run with it, the same way they’ll support whoever follows them. We hope you join us in entering into the invitation of Myth and Creativity, perhaps to re-center in your own creative work, perhaps to connect myth and creativity in new ways.
2024: Myth and Creativity
What’s next for the Fates and Graces? We don’t know yet, but we have some ideas, and we know it has to do with Myth and Creativity. We’ll be working on our plans over the next few months, and when we know more, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, we’ll continue our solstice and equinox gatherings for patrons.
We poured our hearts into the Mythologium, five times over. Five times over, the community filled our hearts back up. We’re all co-creating the field of mythological studies, now in ever new ways. We are so proud of what you have created, what you are now creating, and everything you’ll create that you haven’t even imagined yet.
We can’t wait to see what comes next, for all of us.
